Knock-down boltless display rack



Nov. 13, 1962 J. STEMPLER KNOCK-DOWN BOLTLESS DISPLAY RACK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 24, 1961 IN VEN TOR. lP/CHAQQ (/OEL STE/IP45? BY flaw, 6641;;

R. J. STEMPLER KNOCK-DOWN BOLTLESS DISPLAY RACK Nov. 13, 1962 I Filed July 24, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. flu/49o doe; SEN LEQ 3,063,571 Fatented Nov. 13, 1962 ice 3,063,571 KNOCK-DOWN BOLTLESS DlSlLAY RAKJK Richard Joel Stempler, Massapequa, N.Y. United States Display (10., Copiague, NE.) Filed July 24, 1961, Ser. No. 126,304 1 (Ilaim. ((11. 211-177) This invention relates to a knock-down boltless display rack. More particularly my invention pertains to a garment hanging rack, that is to say, a rack which provides an elevated horizontal hang rail from which garment hangers or the like are adapted to be suspended by their hooks, said hang rail being maintained in elevated position by a supporting stand that can be quickly assembled or disassembled by interlocking elements including the hang rail itself and that does not require the manipulation of nuts and bolts for this purpose.

i-leretofore it has been conventional at several points of a knock-down display rack to detachably join at least two elements through the use of bolts and nuts. This required the aligning of holes, the insertion of bolts in the registered holes and the threading, loosening or tightening of nuts, all of which consumed an appreciable amount of set-up or take-down time. Moreover, tools had to be on hand for assembly or disassembly and even where locking means were employed nuts tended to work loose and had to be retightened.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved display rack of the character described which is not subject to the foregoing drawbacks.

It is another object of my invention to provide an improved display rack of the character described which can be completely assembled without the use of nuts and bolts and yet which, in its assembled condition, is at least as rigid as, and usually more rigid than, a bolted rack.

It is another object of my invention to provide a display rack of the character described which can be quickly and easily dismantled and assembled and yet which needs no tools for either of these operations.

It is another object of my invention to provide a display rack of the character described which can be dismantled into component parts having no appreciable thickness so that the disassembled rack can be shipped flat.

It is another object of my invention to provide a display rack of the character described in which the hang rails are positively locked to the supporting stand so that it is impossible for them to come off or work loose.

It is another object of my invention to provide a display rack of the character described which constitutes relatively few and simple parts, can be assembled or disassembled by unskilled help and is, withal, rugged, sturdy, durable and foolproof.

It is another object of my invention to provide a display rack of the character described having all the foregoing attributes and which, nevertheless, can be made and sold at no greater cost than a conventional bolted display rack.

Other objects of my invention in part will be obvious and in part will be pointed out hereinafter.

My invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the rack hereinafter described, and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which is shown one of the various possible embodiments of my invention,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an assembled display rack constructed in accordance with my invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged exploded perspective View of said display rack;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the hang rail and of the tip of an arm of an X-end frame as they are being approached to one another during the initial step in the assembly of the display rack;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing a subsequent step in assembly;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 of FIG. 1; I

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 66 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 77 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 88 of FIG. 2.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the reference numeral 19 denotes a garment display rack embodying my invention. Said rack basically includes five compo nent parts, some of them being single pieces and others combinations of pieces. The five component parts are: a first hang rail 12, a second hang rail 14, a first X-end frame 16, a second X-end frame 18 and a strut 20. It is proper to observe at this point that these are the only five basic component parts of which the aforesaid garment display rack consists. There are no other basic component parts, even such ancilliary parts as nuts, bolts, cotterpins, washers, etc., to be packed, assembled and lost. Each of these five component parts is a large, rugged, substantial part and, as soon will be seen, when they are assembled into a rack they are rigidly interlocked so as to form a sturdy, reliable garment rack. Nevertheless I may add auxiliary parts to the fundamental rack in order to provide extra functions. For

example, I may add casters so that the rack will roll" about or shelves, dividers or panels so that the rack can be used to display other type of merchandise.

Turning now to the individual construction of each of the component parts, the two hang rails 12, 14 are identical. Like all of the remaining component parts, the hang rails are tubular, that is to say, they are made from hollow tubing, desirably, heavy duty metal, e.g. steel, tubing which is thick enough to be rigid and rugged although not so thick as to be unduly heavy. Any suitable external finish may be provided for the hang rails; for example, they may be enameled or painted. However, I prefer that they be finished with a heavy duty polished chromium to provide a long-wearing durable surface. Optionally, the ends of the hang rail may be capped, as with knobs 22, the diameters of which exceed that of the hang rails in order to prevent garment hangers from slipping off the same. The two hang rails conventionally will be of identical lengths. Each hang rail is provided, a short distance from each end thereof, with an aperture 24. On each hang rail the apertures are in longitudinal alignment and desirably, for the sake of symmetry of appearance, the apertures are similarly located on both hang rails. If the hang rails are considered to have the orientation they occupy in an assembled rack, the apertures 24 are located on the bottom sides thereof.

The first and second X-end frames are of identical construction; accordingly, it is only necessary to describe one of them in detail. An X-end frame essentially constitutes two spaced floor engaging legs which converge upwardly to a junction Zone from which there extends upwardly one or more arms for supporting the hang rails. In the display rack illustrated there are two such upwardly extending arms which, for the sake of appear ance and to conserve floor space, diverge from one another in an upward direction, desirably at an angle which is approximately the same as the convergence angle of the legs. Accordingly, the converging legs and diverging arms which have a common junction Zone where thearms and legs merge have the appearance of an X.

Although from a broad point of view it may be considered that in a structure of this nature each leg is =3 associated with a diagonany opposite arm, as a matter of convenience and expense, as well as of appearance, I prefer to have each leg associated with an arm directly above it rather than opposite to it. It will be understood however that this does not constitute a limitation upon my invention.

More particularly, each X-end frame is made up of three pieces of metal tubing which are rigidly and permanently integrated. These three pieces of tubing are: a left section as, a right section 255 and a sleeve Each of the sections and the sleeve are made from the same general type of metal tubing as that employed for the hang rails, that is to say, sufiiciently thick to be sturdy but not so thick as to be unduly heavy. The tubing is, of course, hollow. Any suitable external finish may be provided, e.g.- lacquer or enamel.

Each section comprises a short lowermost portion 32. For convenience the various portions of the pieces of the X-end frame will be considered to have the orientation that they assume in an assembled garment display rack. The lowermost portion 32. is vertical, i.e., perpendicular and erect with respect to a supporting surface such as a floor. The upper end of the lowermost portion 32 runs into an upwardly and inwardly inclined portion 34. The inclined portions 34 of the left and right sections 26, converge toward one another and are disposed in a common vertical plane. Each lowermost portion 32 and inclined portion 34 of a left section, as well as those of a right section, comprise a leg, there being two such legs for each X-end frame and, as willbe apparent, the legs being formed so as to converge toward one another at a. junction zone.

Extending vertically upwardly from the top end of the inwardly inclined portion 3 is a central portion 35. The central portions of the two sections 26, 28 are parallel to one another and are quite close together, being spaced apart only by the sleeve 3% to which both central portions are permanently rigidly connected as by welding 33 (see FIG. 8). lie in the same vertical plane as the two legs. Accordingly, the sleeve likewise is erect and vertical. The upper end of the sleeve must be open. Optionally, the lower end of the sleeve may be left open or it may be closed.

Extending upwardly from the upper end of the central portion 36 of each section there is an upwardly and outwardly inclined portion 40. For the sake of appear ance, the outward inclination of said upper portion 4 may be at an angle wh'ch matches the inward inclina" tion of the lower portion 34. However this is not necessary. The upper end of the outwardly inclined upper portion 49 terminates at a short erect uppermost portion 42.. The inclined upper portions 4% and uppermost portions 42 constitute the arms of the X-end frame. If desired, the uppermost portions 42 may be directly above the lowermost portions 32.. That is to say the spacing between said uppermost portions 42 in each X-end frame may be the same as the spacing between the lowermost portions 32; however such spacing is purely arbitrary and can be varied in accordance with the demands of any particular installation. It will be observed that the legs converge upwardly to and the arms diverge upwardly from a common juncture zone constituted by the central portions 36 and the sleeve 3!).

Particular attention is directed to the tips 43, that is to say, the upper ends of, the uppermost portions 42. As is apparent from FIGS. 3-6 these tips are transversely upwardly concave or, in other words, transversely saddleshaped. The configuration thereof is such as to match The two central portions 36 and the sleeve 3% the external configuration of the hang rails whereby the zontal branch of a right angled rod the vertical branch 46 of which is rigidly secured to the uppermost portion 42 of the arm, as by welding 48. The vertical branch 46 is located within the tubing constituting the arm and is situated at the transverse center of the saddle shaped tip of the arm so that the finger 44 is located at the lowermost portion of the saddle shape or, in other words, centrally between the two high peaks of the saddles. Thereby, after assembly or" the rack the finger 44 is at the level of the inner surface of the hang rail that is seated on the saddle so that the'finger bears down against the inside of the hang rail, holding it securely against the saddle. At this time the vertical branch 46 to which the linger i4 is connected extends through an aperture 24 in the hang rail, this being most clearly shown in FIG. 5.

is will be evident from inspection of FIGS. 2 and 5 the fingers 4 on the two X-end frames 16, 18 extend oppositely outwardly in a direction parallel to the length of the hang rails and in this respect the two X-end frames are not identical but are mirror images of one another. However, since each X-end frame is symmetrical about a vertical axis passing through the sleeve 34 the fingers can be identically located in the two X-end frames and the desired relative arrangement obtained simply by turning either X-end frame about its said vertical axis.

Furthermore, for a reason which will be apparent later, each of the X-end frames may include a lateral aperture '59 in the sleeve 39, said aperture facing inwardly, i.e.,

toward the opposite X-end frame. In this respect too, therefore, the )(-end frames are mirror images of one another rather than being identical.

The two X-end frames are of like height so that the saddle-shaped tips of the arms at each side of the frames are at the same elevation whereby when the hang rails are supported thereon they will be horizontal.

The fifth and last component part, to wit, the strut .20, is employed to interconnect the two X-end frames and,

in conjunction with the two X-end frames, forms the supporting stand for the hang rails. Said strut includes a horizontal bridging portion 52 terminating at opposite ends in pendant, i.e., down-turned, vertical plugs 54. The strut is made of hollow rigid metal tubing and the plugs 54 are dimensioned to be snugly receivable within the sleeves 30, entry being had at the upper ends of the sleeves.

It may be desired to lock together the component parts comprising the supporting stand for the hang rails, i.e., the two X-end frames and the strut, and for this purpose I provide a suitable captive spring-loaded interengaging means, such, for instance, as a bullet-nosed pin 56, carried by each plug 54-. Each pin is horizontally disposed and has a base thereof located within the hollow plug 54. Said pin is secured to a free arm 58 of a U-shaped leaf spring as within the plug and having its other arm secured to the plug as by welding. The two arms are vertical and the free arm is rather long as to enable the pin to experience a substantially horizontal motion. An aperture 62 is provided at the inner side of the plug to permit the pin to extend therethrough in the unstressed, i.e., idle, condition of the spring 60. The pin has a substlntial portion thereof protruding outwardly through the aperture 62 and through the aperture 5% (providing that i To do this the apertures are lined up with the fingers while the hang rails are angled with respect thereto as shown in FIG. 3. Then the fingers are inserted in the apertures while this angle is maintained, the direction of insertion being indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 3. Thereafter the hang rails and X-end frame are relatively rotated'as indicated by the arrow B in PEG. 4 so as to swing the hang rails into seating engagement with the saddle-shaped tips of the arms, this being the position illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. The same series of steps next is performed to join the other X-end frame to the opposite ends of the two hang rails. The legs of the X-end frames now can be placed on a supporting surface, the two X-end frames will be parallel to one another and vertical, and the hang rails will be horizontal.

To complete the assembly the plugs 54 of the strut 21 are inserted in the sleeves 30. I have found that such final step rigidly locks the component parts of the entire rack together so that at this time, despite the absence of any bolts, nuts or the like, the rack is rigid and firm and can be moved about as a unit without any relative movement of its component parts. The fit between the plugs and the sleeves is a nice friction fit so that there is no noticeable play at these points.

If it is desired to make certain that the strut will not be inadvertently displaced, said strut may include the locking means above described. The operation of such means is automatic. When the plugs are inserted in the sleeves the bullet-noses of the pins will engage the upper ends of the sleeve and will be cammed thereby in an inward direction with respect to the plugs so as to be wholly received within the plugs. However, when the plugs are fully inserted the apertures 50 and 62 will be aligned so that under the influence of the springs 60, the pins will snap outwardly to project through the apertures 50.

To disassemble the garment rack it merely is necessary to reverse the series of operations hereinabove described.

I have found that after reading a very simple set of instructions and performing the assembly and disassembly operations once or twice, common laborers otherwise unacquainted with my new rack can assemble the same in as little as thirty seconds and can dismantle it in less time.

It thus will be seen that I have provided a rack which achieves the several objects of my invention and which is well adapated to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in v the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

A knock-down boltless rack comprising five component parts, said parts consisting of two hang rails, two X-end frames and a strut, each hang rail comprising a straight elongated hollow rod having a pair of openings, one adjacent each end thereof, the openings of each hang rail being on the same side of the rail, each X-end frame comprising a left section, a sleeve and a right section, each section including a central portion, a downwardly and outwardly inclined lower portion and an upwardly and outwardly inclined upper portion, said central portions being juxtaposed to said sleeve on opposite sides thereof and being permanently and rigidly secured thereto, the tips of said upper portions being saddle-shaped, said sections and said sleeve being hollow, a finger rigidly and permanently secured to the saddle-shaped upper end of each upper portion, said finger being horizontally oriented and the fingers in the different X-end frames extending away from one another, said hang rails being seated in said saddle-shaped tips of the upper portions with the fingers extending through the openings in the hang rails and engaging the interiors of the hang rails, said strut comprising a horizontal portion having terminal pendant plugs snugly received in said rockets.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,647,000 Colley July 28, 1953 2,771,261 Niggeloh Nov. 20, 1956 2,852,145 Scholz Sept. 16, 1958 2,903,282 Wright Sept. 8, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,038,946 France May 13, 1953 609,887 Britain Oct. 7, '1948 OTHER REFERENCES Display World, Osterman; January 1954, p. 8; D- 10. (In Design Division.) 

